September 26th, 2006

I'm disgusted with the next story - both on the cirme and also the length of punishment.

Basically it's a story of abuse within the Russian Military on conscripts. The Russian military claim that there are 6,000 cases of abuse a year within their ranks but this particular one is absolutely horrendous.

After going on a drinking spree to celebrate New Year a Sergeant tied a conscript to a chair and beat him up. The Private was then made to crouch for so long that the bloodflow was cut off from his legs and he developed gangrene. Due to the extent of the gangrene he has since had to have both his legs and his genitals amputated. He's still in hospital nine months after the incident.

The Sergeant denies he did anything wrong.

The Sergeant got four years in prison.

FOUR YEARS!

I'm sorry but if I was a judge - or in charge of determining punishments - that Sergeant and the otehrs involved would have gotten a hell of a lot more than four lousy years in prison. He'd have been lucky to walk out of prison alive if it was up to me! People like that should either be locked away for good, locked away and sent to a hard labour camp or executed if the country's laws allow that! The private involved was only 18 and now has to live the rest of his life without legs or genitals due to drunken abuse and torture.

I may be very liberal but when it comes to crimes involving physical/mental abuse/torture I really think most of the worlds judicial systems are way too lenient.

I'd love to think this business venture will fail, but knowing humanity I'm sure it'll get a certain amount of clients...

Bernd Dressler has started up a 'Separation Agency' in Germany. It provides a service for those people who are too scared to break up with their partners/lovers. For 30 Euro the agency will ring the unwwanted half with the news or for 50 Euro they will deliver the news in person. The agency has been described as a 'dating agency in reverse'.